Friday, 19 February 2016

Improving access through ArchivesSpace...

Catalogue Conversion Assistant Paul has come to the end of his time with LHSA. In this week's blog, he discusses how he's been updating LHSA catalogues:

For
my final blog at LHSA I thought that it would be a good idea to talk about what
I have achieved during my four months working here as a Catalogue Conversion
Assistant.

The
challenge was to transfer existing LHSA finding aids from Microsoft Word format
into the University’s archive management system ArchivesSpace, to improve
access to the collections for LHSA users.

As this had never been attempted on such a
scale before, there was no guide or system in place to know how long this
process would take, or the best way to go about it. However, once I started to
work my way through the first catalogue I developed new techniques and more
efficient ways of doing things. This in turn increased the pace I could work
at, whilst still ensuring that I was highly accurate and meticulous in my
approach (there really wasn’t any room for mistakes).

I
have now managed to work my way through five catalogues: Royal Edinburgh
Hospital (LHB7); Rosslynlee Hospital (LHB33); Bangour Village Hospital (LHB44);
Royal Victoria and Associated Hospitals (LHB10); and Royal Victoria Dispensary,
Hospital and Tuberculosis Trust (LHB41). Put together these total 343 pages
converted from Word format into ArchivesSpace.

By far the most epic, and challenging, catalogue I converted into ArchivesSpace
was that of the the Royal Edinburgh Hospital (REH), LHB7. Not only is it the first catalogue I
worked on, at 254 pages long it was most definitely the largest. After its completion, I had entered a total of 3269 individual descriptions and created 124 index terms which will be used to link LHSA collections,
and material, together. Additionally, these can also be used to link records
with others held at the University in order to provide a much richer online
experience for our users.One
series of records which stands out above all others from my time converting the
REH catalogue has to be files containing the Certification Papers. At almost
1,300 individual entries, this was a real test of endurance. However, the sense
of achievement I felt after its completion was highly rewarding - although my
index finger was involuntary twitching for days after.

Boxes of REH certification papers (LHB7/52) in the stores

Another
highlight from my time at LHSA has to be getting the opportunity to pass on my
knowledge and experience of ArchivesSpace and the catalogue conversion process
to other members of the team, both old and new. I have compiled a beginner’s
guide to the process, which should hopefully make the experience a little less
daunting to those who come after me.

Although
I am sad to be leaving LHSA, I feel extremely privileged to have played a small
role in improving online access to the wonderful collections held there. I
would like to thank everyone at LHSA and the CRC for making me feel so welcome,
and for all the help and advice. It
truly is an amazing place to work and I still can’t quite get over the fact
that I have had the opportunity to do so.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Lothian Health Services Archive holds the historically important local records of NHS hospitals and other health-related material.
We collect, preserve and catalogue these records and promote them to increase understanding of the history of health and for the benefit of all.

Use of images from LHSA collections

We can provide images from items in our collections, subject to various conditions. Images are provided for private study or non-commercial research, and cannot be used for other purposes unless you request and receive written permission from LHSA to do so.

If you wish to use any images that have been featured on this blog, please contact us at lhsa@ed.ac.uk and we will be happy to discuss permissions with you.